Beyond the Moon
by WiztheWhiteWolf
Summary: Roman Torchwick never expected to take on a human apprentice, let alone a mute, half-blooded shapeshifter from the gutter. But the girl had talent, and he wasn't one to let talent go to waste.
1. Chapter 1

"I can smell you," Roman taunted in a mocking sing-song voice. He looked around the alley for any sign of the pickpocket responsible for swiping his coin purse. At first, there seemed to be nothing in the dark, grimy alleyway, but on closer inspection, there was a slight shift in the brick pattern just a few feet away from where the ginger was standing. In a flash, he moved forward and seized the thief's wrist, raising her into the air with ease.

"There you are," He grinned as the girl's skin and clothing returned to its normal color. The girl was a tiny thing, but Roman would be lying if he said her flailing legs didn't pack quite the punch. He allowed her to struggle until she'd exhausted herself and took the chance to study her more closely.

The girl couldn't have been older than ten. Her eyes were wide and terrified, her irises an odd silvery-white. She was filthy and clearly malnourished, and whatever shapeshifting magic she'd been using during the theft and chase had worn off, leaving her all the more vulnerable. Roman sighed, grabbing her free hand and retrieving his wallet.

He had half a mind to simply kill her. He was hungry, and it had been years since he'd tasted therian blood. But at the same time, he was impressed with her. She'd had the guts to pick pockets at night when crowds in the city, while by no means nonexistent, were much thinner. If she'd picked a different target, she would've almost certainly gotten away with it. And on top of all that, she could wield her therian magic with seemingly no problems. There was no denying the uses for a partner that could turn invisible...

"Alright, calm down," Roman sighed. He released the girl's wrist and she fell to the ground in a heap. He swung his cane out in front of her as she tried to scramble away. She swallowed and looked up at him, and he grinned to reveal long, razor sharp canines.

"I didn't say we were done here, kiddo. Oh no, not by a long shot." He waved the wallet in front of her face. "What's your name?" The girl was shaking, but she managed to scratch her answer into the dirt.

" _NEO._ "

"Well Neo, let me guess. You've got no friends, family, or home, and you're starving?" As expected, the girl nodded. Roman shook his head in mock sympathy. "How sad. It's not right for one of noble blood to be scraping by on the streets. Which is why I've got an offer for you." Neo cocked her head to one side, her eyes slowly changing from white to pale pink and brown.

"I want you to come with me. Think of it like an apprenticeship. I feed you, I teach you, I put a roof over her head, and in return, you do whatever I say." Neo sat there, staring up at him. "Alternatively, I kill you right here, right now, and get a much-needed meal. So, what's it going to be Neo?"

The girl didn't hesitate to reach out her hand, which he accepted.

 _And just so you don't try and run off during the day..._ Roman met Neo's eyes as he helped her to her feet, channeling magic of his own.

" _ **Sleep.**_ "

Neo's eyes immediately rolled back in her head, and she fell forward. Roman caught her long before she hit the ground, gently picking her up in his arms. She looked even smaller now, which he hadn't even thought possible. He sighed, turning back they way he came. He knew how to get back to his den without hitting any heavy traffic areas, but it was going to be a long walk home.

"Kid, you'd better be worth it," he grumbled.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **HEYO! What is up, guys? This is part of a new miniseries weisspresso and I are currently planning. It's unnamed as of yet, but its code name is "Therian AU", or "TAU" for short. Now, we are far from done with TAU and aren't planning on releasing until sometime after the end of our current AU story " _Tyger, Tyger."_ This is just here to build hype and start building up the world we've created, and once it's done I may start a second that may or may not be about Raven. If you guys would be interested, that is. **

**Friendly reminder that our ask boxes are always open on Tumblr. I am wizthewolf and weisspresso is, well, weisspresso (and also "pyrrhadise", which doubles as her A03 username if ya wanna check her stuff out. It's great.)**

 **Anyway, have a great day, thanks for reading, and if you could leave a review that would be lovely!**

 **-WTWW**


	2. Chapter 2

Neo woke with a pounding headache and no memory of how she'd gotten it or where she was. She curled up into a tight ball and cradled her skull between her hands, shaking with fear. As an urchin, she'd learned quite young not knowing her location could only end badly.

After what seemed like hours, Neo's headache finally died down and she worked up the courage to open her eyes. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw a long hallway with deep alcoves cut into the stone walls. Three flickering torches hung from ancient wrought-iron sconces on the walls, providing the only light and leaving most of the area shrouded in darkness. She lay on a dusty mattress, a heavy old quilt haphazardly placed over her. She pushed it off and tried to sit up, hitting her head on the stone roof above her. It took her a moment to realize her makeshift bed was in an alcove like the ones lining the other walls. To make matters stranger, there was a bandage bound around her left wrist, stained with small specks of blood, but she felt no pain to indicate a wound when she flexed it.

Neo swung her legs over the side of the alcove, rubbing the fresh bump on her head. She dropped to the ground, her bare feet hitting the cool, damp stone with a muted thud and kicking up small clouds of dust. She coughed and waved the dust away, making her way to one of the torches. Her intentions were to explore this strange place and, if possible, find a way back to town. Remembering what had happened the previous night certainly wouldn't hurt either.

There was just one problem: the torch hung far out of her pitiful reach. Neo jumped and scratched at the wall and stood on her toes, stretching her arm as far as she could, but try as she might she couldn't retrieve the light. Not one to give up easily, she began climbing up the alcoves nearby to reach it. Just before her fingers could wrap around the torch she noticed something that gleamed white in the corner of her eye. Curious, she turned and found herself staring straight at a grinning skull.

With a scream, she fell back to the ground, scrambling back to the far wall. Mind blank with terror, she bolted down the hall and into the dark.

* * *

Roman found his apprentice huddled in the dark and shivering. The child stared at him with same terror she had the night before when he'd caught her. He offered her the torch he'd brought, holding out his free hand in a non-threatening manner. Still, the girl scrambled away until her back was pressed against a wall, hyperventilating as if she couldn't breathe. Roman could hear her heart thundering in her chest, pumping magic-laced blood through her veins. He realized his mesmer had likely left the girl without a few crucial memories, an unfortunate but common side effect of his hypnotic magic. It would pass in a few hours, but he wasn't looking forward to keeping the young werecreature under control until then.

"Shh," He chided. "Calm down, Neo. There's nothing down here to be afraid of." Even as he spoke, he saw the skin on the girl's arms and legs harden and separate into protective scales. Thin, hook-shaped claws meant for climbing trees claws burst forth from her fingertips. Neo's mismatched eyes gleamed as she lashed out at Roman. The blow did nothing more than rip the vampire's sleeve and throw the girl off balance. Not wanting the girl to hurt herself - because he knew she had no real chance of doing real damage to him - Roman grabbed the collar of her shirt and spun her around, gripping her shoulders.

"Easy kiddo, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Despite Roman's reassurance, Neo continued her vain struggle until she'd once again tuckered herself out - much sooner than the night before, Roman noticed. Her reptilian features receded while her head sunk to her chest in defeat. Roman didn't believe she was done fighting - not after the way she'd fought last night. As a test, he slackened his grip. The girl bashed her forehead against his nose. The shock and pain caused him to lose his grip, and Neo was long gone before he could collect himself.

"Okay kid," Roman growled, pushing himself to his feet. "You're starting to get on my nerves."

* * *

Neo didn't stop running until she felt like she would collapse if she took another step. Drenched in sweat and surrounded by complete darkness, she sunk to her hands and knees. Just a small break, that was all she needed. Once she'd caught her breath, she could continue her search for an exit from this wretched crypt and the strange man.

Neo winced. Just thinking about the ginger sent stabbing bolts of pain through her still-aching brain. Just who was the man, and how did he know her name? She must've given it to him, but if that was the case then why has she done so? How had he caught her? And why had he brought her to this forsaken crypt? Was he some kind of ghoul, feasting on the dead?

Still clutching her skull with one hand, Neo groped through the dark for an alcove. She found one and used it to pull herself back to her feet. Her fingertips brushed against something, but she refused to let her mind dwell on it. Following the wall with her hand, she pushed forward, and as she moved memories began to trickle back to her.

The ginger had shown up in town the previous night. He'd seemed an easy target at first, but as she tracked him she'd noticed how guarded he truly was. By then, though, it had been too late to turn back. Hunger had gnawed at her stomach - it still did, she realized, meaning she hadn't gotten any food the night before - and she'd wasted far too much energy tailing the man. If she hadn't acted, it would've all been for naught.

Neo tripped over a loose stone and fell, scraping her palms. She sucked her teeth and weakly pushed herself to her feet. In the dark, it was impossible to tell how bad the injuries were, so Neo forced herself to wipe the blood off on her blouse and move on. She racked her brain to remember what had happened after she'd picked the man's pocket. The fact she was here meant she hadn't gotten away with it, surely.

 _Think of it like an apprenticeship._

Neo froze in her tracks as the final pieces fell into place. The man had caught her the previous night. He'd had her at his mercy, but rather than end her life or turn her over to the town guard he'd offered her a deal, and she'd repaid him by smashing his nose. Would he forgive her? Could she even afford to risk going back to him? She realized with dread she may not have a choice. The crypt was a maze, and even if by some miracle Neo managed to escape the man could easily track her down. The girl had neither the strength or the will to flee to another town. There were only two ways this could go: either the man forgave her and accepted her as his apprentice, or he did not.

Neo could only hope he was in a forgiving mood.


End file.
